Tony Blackburn says 'frightening' sepsis battle almost killed him after collapse

13 October 2023 , 09:29

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Tony Blackburn says 'frightening' sepsis battle almost killed him after collapse

BBC Radio 2 star Tony Blackburn has revealed on Good Morning Britain that his "frightening" sepsis battle could have killed him, saying he probably wouldn't be here had it not been caught when it was.

Tony was rushed to hospital earlier this year after collapsing at home, with him revealing he was diagnosed with pneumonia. But in August, Tony confirmed he faced a long recovery after also being diagnosed with sepsis.

According to the NHS, Sepsis is a life-threatening reaction to an infection that happens when your immune system overreacts to an infection and starts to damage your body's own tissues and organs. Tony had blood poisoning which went into his heart, and left him seriously ill.

Speaking to hosts Kate Garraway and Ben Shephard, Tony revealed the moment he was told he had the "frightening" condition and he shared that if doctors had not diagnosed him when they did and given him the treatment he needed, he "probably wouldn't be here".

He also shared on the moment he realised how bad his condition was, as his whole family gathered at his bedside. Sepsis kills around 50,000 people in the UK each year, with it vital that treatment is given promptly – while the condition can be difficult to spot.

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Tony Blackburn has revealed to Good Morning Britain that his 'frightening' sepsis battle could have killed him (ITV)

Tony said on the show of his health battle: "The doctor said, 'I think you're gonna be in hospital for a little while' and I said 'I can't, I've got a show to do, I have a show in two days'. He said, 'I don't think you're gonna do that'."

He went on: "I had sepsis, I had poisoned blood and it went into the heart and I think probably if they hadn't have caught it so soon I wouldn't be here. I knew there was something... I didn't realise it was so serious but I woke up in the hospital one day, and my whole family were round my bed. I thought God..."

Asked if he had any symptoms, he said: "I don't know, I was feeling okay, not too bad. I was coming off stage at Milton Keynes and I wasn't feeling too well. A couple of days later I went home and collapsed on the floor. I couldn't get off the floor, I was rushed to hospital. I never heard of sepsis before, but I was talking to the experts and anyone can get it.

"I said is there anything we could do to stop this and he said no. He said it is very difficult to spot it when you have got it but it's so serious. 50,000 ppl die of this in this country every year, it's a frightening thing and it's got nothing to do with being fit or anything like that."

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV and ITVX. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on , , , , and .

Charlotte Tutton